Counselling Services
This section details the services we provide under the designation of Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC). Our approach to counselling is radically neurodivergence-affirming (keep scrolling to learn more about this approach).
Online and in-person in Burnaby for neurodivergent adults living in British Columbia
Radically neurodivergence-affirming care centres on the belief that all brains and all people have worth.
Beyond neurodiversity-affirmative...
Radically neurodivergence-affirming care
Why is our approach radical?
We believe that neurodivergent brains do not need to be “fixed” because they are not broken. This approach is radical because it goes against much of what society tells us to feel about our neurodivergent brains – that we are lazy, annoying, disordered, too much, or not enough. We work with clients to challenge these societal messages because we believe social change starts with self-acceptance of the beautiful, unique, and sometimes frustrating ways that your own neurodivergent brain experiences the world. When the world is constantly trying to tell you that you are unacceptable, fully accepting yourself for who you are (both your strengths and challenges) is a radical act.
How does this look in sessions?
In sessions, neurodivergent ways of being are encouraged and supported through: dimmable lighting, a scent-free space for in-person sessions, encouraging fidgeting/stimming, not expecting or requiring eye contact, encouraging whatever body position you want to do sessions in, use of visual aids, rephrasing of open-ended questions to make them more concrete, encouraging bluntness and direct communication, not expecting our conversations to be linear, and multiple types of appointment options including in-person (in Burnaby), online, phone, or text.
An anti-oppressive framework
Western society has a narrow idea of what an “acceptable” way to be human is, based on capitalist ideas around productivity and conformity. Over time, societal systems were developed to marginalize and oppress people and communities deemed “unacceptable” so that the people in power (“acceptable” humans) get to stay in power. We work from an anti-oppressive framework, which means we recognize the role societal systems play in power and privilege and the personal responsibility we have as helping professionals to examine our internal biases and the position of power that we hold so that we are not perpetuating societal harms with our clients. We seek to challenge societal constructs and systems that limit and stigmatize the diversity of neurodivergent lived experiences, and as such are anti-ableist, anti-racist, anti-queerphobic, anti-transphobic, anti-classist, anti-fatphobic, and anti-ageist. We welcome clients who are gender diverse (including trans, non-binary, agender, etc.), queer (including polyamory), members of racialized communities, and bodies of all sizes. We are committed to offering reduced-cost services for those in financial need when possible.
